Together At Last
by FujoshiPrince
Summary: Blackstar sees her first. "There!" he yells, "there she is!" he points at Maka."What is she doing?"Tsubaki's heart sinks when she sees her friend's face, a mask of determination and sadness. "i think she's going to jump"


_They exit the building, laughing, the father holding the stuffed toys that the daughter won._

Oh no.

_They stop. They see the wolf, black as night with three glowing red eyes._

No! No!

_The wolf seems to smile and prowls, growing ever closer to the small family._

Please! No!

_Before anyone can do anything, the wolf stretches out one huge talon and slices the father open like a fish._

No! Anything but this!

_And then the wolf turns to the mother and daughter, blood dripping from its mouth from feasting on the body. And it slowly walks forward . . . _

"ARRRGHHHHHHH!"

Maka bursts into the room on hearing her daughter scream. Sumi Evans is sitting upright in her bed, panting, crying, and screaming for help all at the same time.

Maka sits on the bed and comforts her. She does not ask what the nightmare was. She already knows, it haunts her sleep as well.

The wolf kishin that killed Soul Evans lurks at the back of Sumi's mind, growling, waiting for her to fall asleep again. Sumi cries into the black dress that her mother has worn ever since her father's funeral.

Maka gets up to leave, but before she goes she puts her wedding ring on Sumi's bedside table.

And Sumi falls asleep, the wolf not daring to go any closer. Sumi can see it prowling in the darkness and she smiles in her sleep. Once or twice in the night, she opens her eyes and is sure that she can see the faint, glowing outline of her father, sitting on the chair next to Sumi's bed, every now and again reaching down to stroke her hair.

Her father will always be with her.

Maka is alone. Sumi is at school. Or maybe flunking school and going to the movies with Blackstar.

It doesn't matter.

She goes into her room, the walls painted black, which are plastered with paintings and photos of Soul and her daughter.

She sees herself in the mirror. She is pale, deathly so, and her dress is spotted with grime.

And then she sits on her bed and cries. "I miss you Soul," she says, stroking one of the many photos of her with Soul and Sumi, laughing. Those days were over.

Her life has become worthless. She feels hollow, worthless, pointless, and empty. They all meant the same thing. And they all described her.

She cannot live without him. She wants to see him again.

She gets up and walks out of the house, her feet dragging along the concrete. People who see her hurry out of her way. She looks like a madwoman they say.

And they run away, knowing perfectly well what she is going to do, but no one making any effort to stop her.

They run away.

Sumi skips home. To her surprise, the door is open. She grows panicked quickly and rushes to her house, feet pounding on the pavement.

She goes into her house. No sign of a struggle. She dashes around the house, yelling "MOM! MOM! WHERE ARE YOU?" she rushes into her mother's room, expecting to find her mother asleep.

There is nothing. No cheery note explaining where she was. No evidence indicating to where she was.

Just an open door and an empty house.

She runs to the house of Blackstar and Tsubaki, tears streaming from her eyes. It has begun to rain and the wind is blowing into a gale, but fear gives her strength.

She pounds on the door and Blackstar answers. "What is it, kiddo?" the smile vanishes off his face when he sees Sumi's face.

He has a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

"My mother," chokes Sumi, "I-I don't know where she is! I'm scared, Blackstar! She's been acting weird lately . . . I-I DON'T WANNA LOSE HER AS WELL!"

Maka is standing on the bridge, staring blankly at the black water below her. Her black dress flaps around her in the wind.

The water seems to churn when she looks at it, as if it is inviting her, inviting her to give in to it. Out of her pocket, she takes a small gold locket, with a picture of her and Soul just after they had gotten married.

She smiles and tears leaked out of her eyes. Thunder booms and lightning strikes, and for the first time since the funeral, Maka feels completed.

Tsubaki and Sumi stumble out of the taxi and look all around, desperately looking for Maka.

They run toward the Harbor Bridge.

Blackstar sees her first. "There!" he yells, "there she is!" he points at Maka, the black dress trailing behind her like some kind of twisted wedding train. "What is she doing?"

Tsubaki's heart sinks when she sees her friend's face, a mask of determination and sadness. "I think- I think she's going to jump,"

Sumi's heart quickens. She runs toward the bridge. "NO!" she screams. "NO!"

The wind is against her, but Sumi pushes herself forward. She screams to her mother, but the wind tears the words out of her mouth.

Maka takes a deep breath. She kisses the locket then throws herself into the sea.

As she falls, the water seems to form into a whirlpool, like a mouth about to swallow her up.

She disappears into the inky water and Sumi stops. She hears the splash and she falls to her knees. "No," she whispers, "no,"

And the thunder seems to boom as if it is laughing at her.

Three years later.

Sumi climbs into bed. She doesn't want to sleep. She doesn't want to relive both of her parents dying. But Blackstar says she must sleep.

Uncle Blackstar. Her new legal guardian.

Sumi closes her eyes and instantly falls into a dream. It is not the Harbor Bridge and the storm. It is not the fairground and the kishin.

It is winter. It is snowing. It is the city park.

Sumi sees her mother. Her face is gaunt and pale. She is still wearing the black dress.

Sumi yells out. But Maka does not hear her.

Her mother is crying. Then a new figure appears.

Sumi gasps.

Her father.

Maka smiles and laughs and he hugs her. They laugh and Maka is crying, happy tears.

Then they turn and they seem to see Sumi. They wave and smile and Maka is saying something. Sumi cannot hear, but she sees her mother's lips form the words 'I'm sorry'

Sumi is never plagued by the nightmares again.

Because she knows both her parents will always be watching over her.

And she knows they are finally where they wanted to be all along.

Together.


End file.
